Heading into the All-Star game earlier this month, we said that Lauren Jackson would be the MVP of this league someday.

	The 22-year-old Lauren Jackson is one of the league's best players.

But it could happen sooner rather than later.

While Lisa Leslie is the best post in the world, and the Los Angeles center and other players such as Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw and Katie Smith could be considered for the WNBA's top individual honor, Jackson is also a leading candidate.

Seattle's Jackson, a 6-foot-5 Australian, is playing incredible basketball right now. Since the All-Star break, the Storm have won four of seven games, and in winning two of three last week, Jackson averaged 25.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks. En route to winning the WNBA Player of the Week honors, she also shot 58 percent from the floor, 50 percent from 3-point range and 89 percent from the foul line.

Jackson has been one of the league's top players since Seattle drafted her with the No. 1 pick in 2001, and we all knew she was capable of becoming a star. But she's doing it at a much younger age than most. In the WNBA, players normally reach this level in their late-20s or early-30s, but Jackson has truly come into her own this season, at just 22 years old. And her remarkable consistency, confidence and mental toughness have helped her transform into one of the league's best.

Through Monday, only a handful of players are putting up comparable statistics. Jackson briefly eclipsed Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw on the league scoring charts over the weekend but now ranks second at 21 points per game. Jackson is also ninth in rebounding (7.5) and fifth in blocks. Last season, she averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 boards.

Off the court, Jackson is soft-spoken and gentile. But on the court, she plays with a reckless abandon. She has done a better job this year, though, of controlling her fiery emotions and channeling them into her confidence.

In addition to added maturity, Jackson's game also has benefited from Anne Donovan's coaching philosophy. (Jackson already has said that Donovan, in her first season in Seattle, is the best coach she has ever played for.) Jackson has always been good from the outside, creating many mismatch problems. She could power dribble by her opponents or shoot over them. But this season, with Donovan's urging, Jackson has been a much bigger threat down low and is getting down and dirty with her back to the basket, using traditional post moves and relying less on the outside shot. Against New York, for example, she attempted just one 3-pointer. And against Minnesota, Jackson shot only two treys.

As a result, Jackson is shooting higher-percentage shots. After shooting 36 percent from the field in 2001 and 40 percent in '02, Jackson's shooting 47 percent from the floor this season, and has sank 165 field goals, more than any other player in the league. Jackson also is getting to the foul line more often. Although she has only had three games this season where she has been to the line at least 10 times, two came last week. She was 11-for-12 on free throws against the Lynx and 10-for-11 against the Liberty. She needs to keep that up, continue to be aggressive and get to the line, where she is shooting a career-high 84 percent.

Jackson not only hurts opponents from different areas of the floor, but from whistle to whistle, particularly in the second half. Against Minnesota, she scored 20 points after the break. Jackson also scored 22 second-half points against New York, and 17 points in the final 20 minutes against Phoenix.

But added maturity and a coach she believes in aren't the only things on Jackson's side. Now in her third season in the Emerald City, Jackson is perhaps simply becoming more comfortable living in Seattle, especially now that she is surrounded by fellow Australians Sandy Brondello and Tully Bevilaqua. Brondello, a star in her own right last season in Miami, has become a great mentor and friend to Jackson, and having that sort of support group around you -- in addition to Sue Bird's superb skills -- is invaluable.

And so far, Jackson is, too. And in a season where Leslie is struggling to return from injury and Holdsclaw's Mystics are struggling just to win 10 games, Jackson's efforts -- and Seattle's 13-10 record and playoff aspirations -- just might be enough to win the MVP.

Nancy Lieberman, an ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. Contact her at www.nancylieberman.com.